06-21-2021, 07:42 PM
(06-21-2021, 04:19 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: I have mixed feelings about this.
On one hand, I do think these players deserve to be compensated. I've also never understood what prevented them from making outside income while in school (Ex: A student athlete should be able to take a job doing a commerical in the same way that a regular student can earn income in any way they choose.)
On the other hand, this is just going to make college athletics more top heavy. Mid-level and smaller programs will fall further and further from being able to compete while larger programs will only further cement themselves as being so far ahead of everyone else.
I'd feel a LOT better about this if they did away with Title IX, or reworked it where it makes some actual sense. I don't think people realize that just because some of these sports and some of the teams generate so much income that doesn't mean the university is walking away with tons of profits. All of these dollars are used to subsidize all of the other programs that lose money, which is pretty much every that isn't men's basketball, football, and some baseball teams.
It's absolutely crazy when you look at some of these athletic department budgets. Most of them are lucky to even break even, and that's goes for the big guys too. It's really easy to say that because the football program generates millions and millions of dollars that those players deserve some money. That makes sense up until you realize that income is used to fund women's basketball, womens soccer, women softball, women's track, women's tennis, women's golf, etc. When it's all said and done, there's not much money left.
I worry about what this really means if no changes are made. A school like Cincinnati could definitely afford to compete a little bit if they weren't force to fund an equal number of scholarships and everything that comes with them (coaching and training staffs, transportation costs, medical, training equipment, etc.) But the fact of the matter is no matter how much their football and baskeball teams make they just don't have that much money. It goes to all of this stuff, stuff like paying for the women's basketball team to play 15 road games all around the country. Larger programs can work around this but I'm afraid schools like UC can't.
Fwiw, I think the solution to this is tear up Title IX. Make any sport that isn't profitable a "club sport" or offering partial scholarships. Make the leagues for these regional to reduce costs. Then let the players that actually earning the money share in the spoils. That way you can have some more parity.
Just my 2 cents...
College sports don’t have to be profitable or even self sustaining that is a myth that has evolved from the arms race that is current big time athletics. 75 years ago no sport was profitable and they weren’t expected to be so, that came from the explosion of TV and apparel deals. It can be done and is done as Division 2 gives athletic scholarships and NO SPORT is profitable and very few teams in the entire division and any sport are self sustaining. The incentive to offer the sports is the reason they were first added to the schools and the reason they are in high schools, to offer the student a full experience while creating a sense of school pride. Plus, there is the added bonus that successful sports does translate to increased enrollment.
Now that said, you don’t see million dollar coaches or 50 million dollar stadiums. You don’t have massive stipends, elaborate training tables (athletic dining), or super training facilities. If all those things disappear though the sports can still remain and the actual goal of “student athletics” can still be attained.
